


the kids are alright (or how Clint became den mother)

by joldiego



Series: the story they will write someday [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Clint is Team Mom, Den Mother!Clint Barton, Found Family, Gen, Next-Gen Avengers, Not A Fix-It, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), and yall can fight me on that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18713893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joldiego/pseuds/joldiego
Summary: Clint had always wanted three kids.He would deny having made these specific plans until the day he dies because it’s so cliche and suburban, and he can’t imagine the shit that he would’ve gotten for it had this information come to light, but there was something very even and complete about having three kids that he appreciated.He felt like he had all his bases covered.So imagine Clint's surprise at his accidental acquisition of five more.





	the kids are alright (or how Clint became den mother)

**Author's Note:**

> this one is a bit world-buildy to establish this verse, but I absolutely adore den mother!Clint  
> I am so about it  
> also, clint's farmhouse is in new york bc I say so and it makes my life easier  
> enjoy!!

Clint had always wanted three kids.

He would deny having made these specific plans until the day he dies because it’s so cliche and suburban, and he can’t imagine the shit that he would’ve gotten for it had this information come to light, but there was something very even and complete about having three kids that he appreciated.

He felt like he had all his bases covered.

Cooper was logical and level-headed. Easily the most diplomatic of the three, also the most annoying to get into an argument with because he was _always_ prepared with evidence.

Lila was a spitfire, begging for her Pops to take her out to the archery range since he had first shown her a bow. She was also fiercely protective of her brothers, nearly to a fault. (Which often resulted in her arriving home from school with scraped knuckles and notes scheduling parent-teacher conferences.)

And little Nate was just a ball of sunshine. Of course, his easy-going nature made him the default mediator between his often-at-odds brother and sister, but he was damn good at it. Nate was just friends with _everybody_ : His classmates, the mailman, the stray cat that lingered near their barn.

They were balanced, and Clint was content. He had all the children in his life that he needed.

So imagine his surprise at his accidental acquisition of five more.

It started slow, after the war.

The Avengers had sort of been a family, once upon a time, but between Ultron, the Sokovia Accords and everything that followed, they had split apart into jagged pieces.

And now there were new pieces on the board. Pieces missing as well.

It took them a while to figure out how they all still fit together.

But if Clint had to pick out a single inciting event for all that followed, it would have to be the Fourth of July barbecue that took place the year after… everything.

(Clint could never find it in his heart to say “after they won” because they hadn’t. They lost Tony and Nat. But it was also the same day that Clint had reunited with his family after five years of thinking them dead, so it didn’t sit right with him to say “after they lost” either. The whole thing left him with a lot of complex emotions that made his stomach hurt until he resigned himself to abandon the linguistics behind the situation entirely.)

But, _anyway._ The barbecue.

Clint had invited everyone on a whim. And he means _everyone_. Sure, a bunch them had seen each other in passing over the past year, meeting for coffee or babysitting as a favor, but the summertime had Clint feeling nostalgic for the big family barbecues featured in the movies he watched with his kids.

Sue him. He wanted a little bit of normalcy for himself and for his team. So he swallowed his pride and sent out the invites.

And suddenly the whole motley crew was arriving bit by bit at his family's farm.

_And damn if this wasn’t the best decision that Clint had ever made._

He’s kicked back in a lawn chair, reminded that way back when, he had really _liked_ these people.

Happy and Bruce are flipping burgers at the grill, Scott is telling gut-busting stories that Clint has long since ceased being able to follow, Rhodey is sweeping the floor with them in an impromptu game of poker, only being defeated when Pepper and May join in. Clint slips easily back into the teasing and ribbing relationship that he had with Sam, and he finds a similar dynamic forming with Bucky. There are twenty conversations happening at once, and every once and awhile Steve chimes in with a quip that has them all rolling. Laura, Hope, and T’Challa are giggling together over a little too much wine, and the _kids_.

The kids are the best part of the whole thing.

Lila is showing Morgan how to shoot with a plastic bow and arrow under Harley’s watchful eye, Peter is running around tirelessly with Nate on his back, Shuri and Cooper kick back in the shade with discussing a book that they both like.

They’re all acting like they’ve known each other for years, playing games of tag, water-balloon fights, whiffle ball. And it all becomes infinitely more chaotic when the equally childish Guardians arrive with Thor in tow and they’re dragged into the fun.

(Nebula’s competitive fervor is matched only by Morgan’s.)

Clint knows that they have to keep this up.

So from then on, they’ve solidified their wonky little family.

They get together for holidays and birthdays, they email photos and recipes back and forth, and somewhere along the way, he becomes Uncle Clint.

Uncle Clint is in charge of movie night when everyone sleeps over at their farmhouse, Uncle Clint shows up to help Peter and Harley move into their dorm at ESU, Uncle Clint trains Cassie in hand to hand when she gets her own suit, Uncle Clint _definitely does not_ tear up when Morgan shows him the ridiculously crowded family portrait she drew at school.

Years later when Peter, Harley, Cassie, Shuri, and Lila start fighting crime as a team, Uncle Clint swears that his heart’s gonna give out.

And the only thing that eases his gut-wrenching fear is… _involving_ himself.

Clint’s own days fighting the forces of evil are over, so he becomes home base, the voice of reason supervising over the comms.

He’s the one who summons them to tower every weekend, waking them up at the ass crack of dawn to spar.

He’s the one who scolds them for too much chatter during a fight. (And he knows that somewhere, Nat is laughing her ass off about it.)

He’s the who patches up cuts and bruises, reviews strategies with them after a victory or a defeat.

He’s the one who calls in Helen Cho after Harley takes a horrifying fall when his suit gets knocked out of the sky.

The stuff that they do scares the shit out of him, but Clint couldn’t be more proud. They’re fighting the good fight, just like those that came before them.

And when they get him a mug for his birthday that proudly boasts him as “The World’s Okayest Mom,” Clint bears the title with pride.

God help anyone who messes with his kids.

**Author's Note:**

> stay tuned for more in this verse!  
> your kudos and comments are always appreciated, my loves!  
> thank you for reading! :D


End file.
